The Bittersweet

chapter eight - a solid 9

I could not do this. Dakota was hard enough. Wes is one hundred times worse. Rom is triple that. You see there are pros and cons to having male friends like these two as your basic family. They look out for you and love you and keep you safe through everything. They also overreact and threaten to bash, beat, and castrate anyone who could harm you; with or without request.

Dakota pulled me up and up the road leading to Wes' house insisting that I tell him sooner rather than later. If Dakota wasn't the hype in this situation then none of them will be hyping me up, understandably of course.

"Dakota can't we just wait until tonight," I whine trying to dig my feet into the pavement beneath me. The chic was strong and I genuinely hated it.

"Maya, if you don't want to end up in a coffin I suggest you do it now." She pauses looking at me with crossed arms and stern eyes. In times like this, she could and was most definitely the scarier one between us. I contemplated running back down the road and into the comfort of my car but knew better than to do so.

"But he's going to be so sad or so angry and you know we hate that." I pouted trying my best puppy dog eyes.

"Stop it." She demands making my shoulders sink. She turns back around and grabs my hand pulling me into Wes' pretty front yard and modern house. We walk up the driveway and see Rom's car parked in front of the garage.

"Oh look Rom's here," She grins wickedly. My jaw slacks open at her evil grin.

"You knew he was here! You want me dead I knew it!"

She rolls her eyes at my incredulity, "I'm killing two birds with one stone, calm down."

I whimper in response and kick the door mat as Dakota rings the doorbell incessantly.

The door is thrown open with a furious looking Wes behind the security door, "Can you not wait! I just woke up!" He shrieks grumpily unlocking the door. Great. Grumpy and tired Wes is the perfect Wes to deal with right now.

I smile sheepishly at him as I walk through the door after Dakota. He holds it open, his hair fussed, and sweatpants hanging low on his exposed hips, "Morning Maya,"

"Lovely morning to you too Wessy!" I chirp back waiting for him to lock the doors again. He shakes his head at the perkiness and pushes his hands on my back guiding me to the kitchen.

"Good morning May May!" Rom says brightly as soon as I'm in view. Wes groans behind me from Rom's volume at this time of the morning. He shoves another spoonful of cheerios into his mouth and munches on them loudly. I look at Dakota who's helping herself to whatever juice Wes' mum had made and bottled in the fridge and pulls some out for us.

"Maya she made your fave!" She says closing the fridge door and placing the glass bottle labelled 'Watermelon and Raspberry' in front of me. I grin and twirl the bottle around to find a little sticky note reading, 'For Maya.' and a little heart underneath.

"Oh yeah I was meant to tell you that she made that, but I forgot." Wes says rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Dakota slides him a bottle of what looks to be orange and mango, and pops her lid open drinking straight from it. Wes' mom is a popular dietitian, from our young age she has made us juices and all sorts of healthy foods for us whenever we came over and she had the time.

I twist the metal cap open and take multiple gulps of the healthy goodness. Literally the next best thing from Kombucha. Hands down. I leave half the bottle left, satisfied with the contents in my stomach. Wes follows in suit and opens his drink but downing it all within a matter of seconds.

He licks his lips and puts the bottle down in the sink to later be washed and reused.
"So, what did you guys want to do or talk about this early in the morning?"